The Best Translation of Antigone
Antigone was written in Ancient Greek. 2 recommended editions, ranked — with Gröblé’s verdict on which to read first.
Robert Fagles
Penguin Classics · 1984
Fagles in the Three Theban Plays volume, with Bernard Knox's introduction doing real critical work. Antigone's defiance lands like a modern voice without losing the weight of the ritual it's set inside.
Every recommended edition, compared
Grene's version in the Chicago Complete Greek Tragedies. Closer to the literal Sophocles, which is what you want when you're tracking the argument between Antigone and Creon line by line rather than riding the emotion.
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Reading Antigone in translation
Antigone was written in Ancient Greek, so unless you read Ancient Greek, the translator decides the book you actually experience — its register, its pace, how it sounds read aloud. Two editions of the same work can feel like different books.
The ranking above is Gröblé’s: one reader’s verdict on which English gets you closest, not a publisher’s blurb. Start with the top pick; reach for the others when you want a different angle on the original.